Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

The Mangming Gallery.

It wasn’t a place Jihoo had ever thought about, let alone known existed. Yet the chat’s reaction was peculiar enough to catch his attention.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Hey, hey, hey.]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: You can’t just say risky stuff like that.]
[This is bad.]
[MangGallery folks, on behalf of Dama, we’re so sorry ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.]
[I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.]
[Hwanhee: Just apologize now… before it’s too late.]
[If they target you, there’s no going back.]
[Kang Hoo-min: Apologizing might actually be a good idea.]
[Quick judgment as always, KangPing, lol.]
[No, but seriously, this time you probably should apologize.]

It felt as though the chat was urging him to kneel and beg for forgiveness. Jihoo frowned. Even his regular viewers, who usually encouraged him to stand his ground, seemed to think this was necessary.

But that only made Jihoo more resistant.

‘I didn’t even do anything wrong.’

If he had committed some offense, he might’ve considered apologizing. But why should he apologize for something as innocuous as mentioning a gallery? It wasn’t like he’d insulted a person, just a vague entity.

“I don’t see why I should apologize. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Jihoo said firmly.

The chat froze for a moment, and then—

[염왕일패도지자망밍의앞에조아려 has donated 1,000 won!]
-Hmmm……

The tension in the room rose immediately.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: That ‘hmm’ is dangerous.]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: Really dangerous.]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: Uh oh.]
[You should still consider apologizing…]
[But knowing Dama, there’s no way he’s going to apologize, lol.]

Jihoo wasn’t fazed. What could they do? If he restricted chat permissions, those people wouldn’t have any power. That’s why he always maintained a confident demeanor.

Still, as his viewer count steadily climbed, Jihoo realized continuing the stream might not be the wisest choice. It was starting to feel like a pressure cooker ready to explode.

“Well, I’ll be back tomorrow. See you then,” he said casually.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: ?]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: Wait, just like that?]
[Though, yeah, staying online feels like it’d lead to something happening.]
[Guess there’s no helping it.]
[This stream was definitely heading for chaos, lol.]
[See you tomorrow.]
[Hwanhee: Bye-bye.]
[Kang Hoo-min: Later.]

The viewers seemed to understand why Jihoo was ending the stream and didn’t argue. With no regrets, Jihoo clicked the button to end the broadcast.

[Stream has ended.]

Jihoo confirmed the stream had ended and shut down his computer. He flopped onto the futon in the corner of the room, only to see Yeram lying beside him with a mischievous expression.

“Mangming’s reaction was hilarious,” Yeram teased.

“You knew all this and still played dumb? That’s cruel, you know.”

“It was funny, though.”

“Well, yeah, it was,” Jihoo admitted.

He was starting to understand why people enjoyed mocking Mangming. The guy reacted to everything, making it hard to resist messing with him.

“So, what’s this ‘Mangming Gallery’ thing, anyway?” Jihoo asked.

“No idea. I’m a high school senior, remember? Why would I know about that?”

“Yeah, a high school senior who’s lying around doing nothing after school,” Jihoo shot back.

“Hey, this is my sacred rest time.”

“Sacred, huh? Sure.”

Jihoo sighed. It was hard to imagine what kind of future Yeram was aiming for with such a laid-back attitude.

“So, have you been watching my stream this whole time?”

“Yep. You’re still new to streaming, so I thought you might mess up or something.”

“Fair point.”

Jihoo wasn’t exactly a seasoned streamer, so mistakes were possible. Yeram’s effort to monitor his stream warmed his heart. As a token of appreciation, he transferred some money to her account.

“I sent you some allowance.”

“Oh, really?”

A moment later—

“Seriously? A thousand won? What am I supposed to do with this?” Yeram complained.

“Buy some ramen.”

“Ramen, huh? Wow, thanks,” she said sarcastically, turning away to fiddle with her phone.

Jihoo felt unjustly accused. A thousand won was plenty generous, wasn’t it?

Later, Jihoo made a post in the Ifrit Gallery:

[User: UncoverLondon’sSecrets]
[Title: So, what exactly is the Mangming Gallery?]
[Content: I couldn’t ask during the stream, but what is it exactly?]

He waited, curious to see what responses he’d get. Before long, notifications started coming in.

L: But seriously, what’s London’s secret? Been curious about your username forever.
ㄴ: Yeah, spill it.
ㄴ: It’s just a streamer thing.
ㄴ: Don’t bring it up carelessly, though.

L [Omniscient Cthulhu]: Since you couldn’t get a proper explanation during the stream, let me break it down for you.
ㄴ [Omniscient Cthulhu]: They’re self-proclaimed fans of Mangming who act like vigilantes. Think of them as a chaotic self-policing squad.
ㄴ [Omniscient Cthulhu]: If there’s a stream even remotely related to Mangming, they’ll invade and cause havoc.
ㄴ [Omniscient Cthulhu]: Other streamers tolerate it because it boosts viewership, but it’s a real headache.

“Oh.”

Jihoo finally understood. The Mangming Gallery was essentially a group of vigilante trolls wreaking havoc on streams, supposedly in Mangming’s name.

Just as he was processing this, another comment popped up.

ㄴ [Omniscient Cthulhu]: By the way, you should delete this post.
ㄴ [Omniscient Cthulhu]: Rumor has it they ego-search and hunt down posts like these.

‘Do these people have nothing better to do?’ Jihoo thought, incredulous.

Still, to avoid unnecessary drama, he deleted the post.

‘I don’t need them coming after me.’

Though Jihoo enjoyed browsing galleries as a minor pastime, he didn’t want that hobby ruined by unnecessary conflicts.

The next morning, Jihoo greeted Yehwa at the cafe where he worked part-time.

“Good morning.”

“Oh, Jihoo, you’re here?”

“Yes.”

The weekend crowd was unusually large, keeping Jihoo busy making coffee. As the machine hummed, Jihoo mulled over the previous night’s events.

Should he mention Mangming or the Mangming Gallery during his next stream?

While teasing Mangming was undeniably entertaining, thanks to his over-the-top reactions, it might be better to avoid bringing up the gallery altogether. The last thing Jihoo wanted was to attract trouble.

‘Poor Mangming,’ Jihoo thought.

It wasn’t Mangming’s fault his so-called fanbase acted like this. Jihoo couldn’t imagine dealing with such a toxic group himself. It was no wonder people tried to distance themselves from Mangming.

He recalled a classmate in elementary school who was in a similar situation. The kid was nice enough, but their overbearing parent scared off all the other kids. Parents like that turned even simple things, like sharing food, into a dramatic ordeal.

Shaking off those memories, Jihoo focused on his work.

A text notification interrupted his thoughts.

[Yeram: Hey.]
[Yeram: What are you doing?]

Jihoo was surprised to hear from her during his shift.

[Me: Working.]
[Me: Why?]

Yeram replied quickly.

[Yeram: I was thinking about this while falling asleep last night.]
[Me: How do you think while sleeping?]
[Yeram: Ugh, whatever.]
[Me: So?]

Jihoo’s practical correction seemed to irritate her, but she continued.

[Yeram: There’s this streamer I watch.]
[Yeram: Her name’s Harin.]
[Yeram: She’s way better to befriend than Mangming.]

Jihoo was caught off guard by the sudden recommendation.

[Me: Why?]
[Yeram: Mangming’s fanbase is way too toxic.]
[Yeram: You’d be better off getting close to someone like Harin.]

It seemed his little sister was genuinely concerned for him.@@novelbin@@

[Me: I’ll think about it.]

Still, Jihoo was the kind of person who didn’t even listen to his mom if he didn’t want to.

Back at work, Jihoo laughed to himself. No matter what, his streams were going to stay interesting.